Kentucky softball’s (24-14, 3-9 SEC) 2024 regular season is beginning to wind down, as only four conference series remain.
The Wildcats have had difficulties in conference play so far this season and currently are tied for 11th place in the SEC standings.
After a disappointing first-round exit against Florida in the 2023 campaign, Kentucky is looking to secure a decent seed in the SEC Tournament while facing tough competition.
April 12-14: versus Georgia
No. 8 Georgia (32-8, 7-5 SEC) will undoubtedly be a tough opponent for Kentucky to face at home this coming weekend.
Although the Bulldogs are coming off a series loss against Tennessee in Knoxville, they did hand the Lady Vols their first home loss of the season with a 3-2 victory in the second game.
In March, the Bulldogs earned a home series victory against No. 13 Alabama and, a week later, won three road games in two days to sweep Ole Miss.
They have a star hitter in senior Jayda Kearney, who has started all 40 games and hit .377 with 14 home runs, the latter of which ranks second in the SEC.
Kearney has had three multi-homer games, including one early in the season against current No. 18 Florida State.
Fifth-year senior Sara Mosley is another Georgia hitter to watch out for. She ranks third in the SEC in RBIs with 49 and is tied for fifth in home runs with 11.
The Bulldogs’ entire batting order features great hitters from top to bottom, though, so Kentucky’s pitching staff and defense will need to be in top shape in order to have any chance at shutting them down.
In addition to the hitters, Georgia has an incredible pitching staff.
Senior Madison Kerpics, junior Lilli Backes and graduate student Shelby Walters are the main starting pitchers on the Bulldogs’ roster, as those three have combined to start 33 of 40 games.
All three have at least seven wins on their record and ERAs below three.
Backes has also pitched six complete games, is tied for second in the SEC in saves with four and leads the team in strikeouts with 80.
Kerpics has a 10-1 record and ranks ninth in the conference in opposing batting average with .183.
Overall, Kentucky will need to play at a high level in all aspects to have a shot at any wins in the series.
Home-field advantage could also be a factor because Georgia has a 5-3 road record and has not played as many road games as most SEC schools.
The first game of the series will begin on Friday, April 12, at 6:30 p.m. ET at John Cropp Stadium.
April 20-22: at Auburn
Auburn (21-12-1, 3-9 SEC) is a team that is similar to Kentucky in many ways. It started off doing very well in tournaments early in the season but has struggled in SEC play.
One of the tournaments the Tigers competed in was the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and they came out with three wins in two days.
Since conference play began, they have had a hard time defeating tough SEC opponents, as they have yet to win a conference series.
Despite this, the Tigers took one game in their series against Tennessee on March 31, which is the Lady Vols’ only road loss of the year.
Auburn does not have an entire lineup of hitters who consistently drive in runs and are atop SEC ranks like Georgia does.
In fact, the Tigers as a team rank last in the conference in many major hitting categories, including hits, RBIs, runs scored and total bases.
However, there are a handful of playmakers in the lineup that Kentucky should be aware of.
For example, junior Amelia Lech has started all 34 games and leads the team in both home runs, with nine, and RBIs, with 30.
Junior Anna Wohlers has also stood out this season, leading the team with a .353 average and also tallying 30 hits and five home runs.
Perhaps the most notable thing about Auburn is that it boasts arguably one of the best pitchers in the SEC in senior Maddie Penta.
Penta, who has started 22 games with a 12-6 record, leads the SEC in strikeouts and is tenth in ERA with 1.59.
She also has held batters she has faced to a .172 average, which ranks fifth in the conference.
Senior Shelby Lowe is also a solid pitcher, with a 5-3 record and 47 strikeouts on the year.
The series is looking to be pretty evenly matched, but Kentucky definitely has what it takes to come out on top as long as it is consistent in the circle and finds a way to get some big hits off of pitchers like Penta.
The series will take place from Saturday through Monday, April 20-22, at Jane B. Moore Field in Auburn, Alabama.
April 26-28: versus South Carolina
No. 25 South Carolina (28-13, 4-8 SEC) currently sits in tenth place in the SEC standings, as it also started off hot in tournament play but haven’t been able to win much in the SEC.
Three of the Gamecocks’ four conference wins came in a road sweep over Ole Miss from March 29-31 where the Rebels were outscored 14-3.
They also won one game in their series against current No. 17 Mississippi State on April 7.
On the other hand, they have been swept by both Texas A&M and Tennessee and scored a combined three runs in both of those series.
One thing that stands out about the Gamecocks is that they have a lot of depth in their lineup and rotate through many different starters. The only player who has started every game is senior Riley Blampied.
Blampied is one of the main players Kentucky should be aware of, as she has a .306 average and leads the team in RBIs with 26.
Redshirt senior Kianna Jones is another big name for the Gamecocks. She has started 37 of 41 games and has recorded 29 hits and five home runs.
In general, South Carolina’s offense is not the most efficient, ranking last in the SEC in batting average, on-base percentage and home runs, and also second to last in runs scored.
If Kentucky’s pitching staff and defense plays well and does not make any major mistakes, containing the Gamecocks should not be a difficult task.
As for pitching, South Carolina has four main pitchers in its rotation who all are capable of throwing great games.
The Gamecocks as a team are currently third in the SEC in both ERA and opposing batting average.
Fifth-year senior Alana Vawter is tied for eighth in the conference in wins with 12 and has a 1.97 ERA.
Additionally, freshman Sage Mardjetko has thrown 87 strikeouts this season, which ranks 11th in the SEC, in only 85.2 innings pitched.
It will be a test for Kentucky’s hitters to deliver quality at-bats during the series, but it is definitely possible for it to come away with a series win.
The series will run from Friday through Sunday, April 26-28, at John Cropp Stadium, with Kentucky’s Senior Day taking place on Saturday, April 27, at 2 p.m.
May 2-4: at Tennessee
No. 4 Tennessee (30-6, 10-2 SEC) has been a dominant force in college softball for many years now, and this season is no exception.
Kentucky is looking for revenge after being swept at home last year but it will, without a doubt, be a major challenge.
Four of the Lady Vols’ six losses came in the month of February during tournament play, and they have been nearly unstoppable since then.
Tennessee is one of two schools in the SEC, along with Florida, to have won every conference series it has played in thus far.
The roster is loaded with talented hitters and pitchers whose efforts always combine to result in impressive victories.
The Lady Vols know how to go deep at the plate, as they rank third in the SEC in team home runs and have nine players with at least three homers.
Junior McKenna Gibson, who leads the team in batting average, hits and RBIs, is one of the main power hitters Kentucky will need to keep an eye on.
Tennessee also has an interesting player in graduate student Kiki Milloy, who is tied for the team lead in home runs and also ranks second in the SEC in stolen bases with 20.
Milloy also ranks fourth in the conference in runs scored with 45, so her speed will be troublesome for teams like Kentucky to stop.
The pitching staff as a whole is elite, ranking first in the SEC in ERA with 1.29 and in opposing batting average with .178, and is tied for first with Kentucky in strikeouts with 267.
Similar to Kentucky, the Lady Vols only have four pitchers who have made appearances this season, so having top-tier numbers with few pitchers shows how high of a level they can produce at.
Both sophomore Karlyn Pickens and graduate student Payton Gottshall are among the best pitchers in the SEC and have led the Lady Vols to many important victories, as Pickens has earned 15 wins and Gottshall has tallied 13.
Pickens is second in the SEC in ERA with an incredible 0.81 and is also second in strikeouts with 143, both of which were achieved in 112.1 innings pitched, making her a pitcher that Kentucky will certainly be afraid to face.
Gottshall is also among the top ranks in the conference in ERA and strikeouts.
Tennessee has held its opponents to a .177 batting average this season while hitting .302 themselves, giving it a massive edge against most teams it faces.
It will take a lot for Kentucky to overpower a team like the Lady Vols, but if everything falls into the right place an upset is always possible.
The series will close out the regular season for each team and is slated to take place from Thursday to Saturday, May 2-4, at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium in Knoxville. The first game of the series will be televised on the SEC Network.
